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What a joy it is to share with you again. Please make yourself something to drink and get yourself a cake if you must!!!!!.

Grab your bible and let's study this wonderful psalm.. TOGETHER

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God bless you

Keith

Psalm 1

1[a]BLESSED (HAPPY, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) is the man who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly [following their advice, their plans and purposes], nor stands [submissive and inactive] in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down [to relax and rest] where the scornful [and the mockers] gather.

2But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night.

3And he shall be like a tree firmly planted [and tended] by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper [and come to maturity].

4Not so the wicked [those disobedient and living without God are not so]. But they are like the chaff [worthless, dead, without substance] which the wind drives away.

5Therefore the wicked [those disobedient and living without God] shall not stand [justified] in the judgment, nor [b]sinners in the congregation of the righteous [those who are upright and in right standing with God].

6For the Lord knows and is fully acquainted with the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly [those living outside God's will] shall perish (end in ruin and come to nought).

Dear Friends

The First Psalm is such a wonderful one and I just wish to share some things about it.

Here is the way temptation can strike, it starts off slowly, but as we see in these verses it can spiral out of control and then we fall into Sin.

Walking- C/f Proverbs 1:15

Note here that it is not the actual walking, that is wrong, it is who we walk with and what we listen to. We need to be very careful with what we fill our minds with and who we have as our friends. We are to be in the world, but not of it John 17:7-17. We must feed our minds with the right type of food to keep it healthy Philippians 4:7-8

Standing

Once we start to stop and ponder sin, it will take control. How often Do We (I), look longingly at some temptation, we must realize that the result of giving in to it, leads to death, in a spiritual sense Romans 6:23. We become submissive and inactive it says in the Psalm, we stand and look earnestly after this or that pleasure. Be careful christian, what you see and what you watch.

Sitting

Please note the lessening of activity here, when we are walking we are actually doing something, but then we become dormant.

There are thousands of christians, who have started off well, but are now back in the clutches of the world, because like Demas, they have loved this present world. 2 Timothy 4:10. You have been warned Believer.

In verses 2-3, we are given the answer. And that answer is to fill ourselves with God's word. Not just to read it, but to meditate on it, and to do this on a continuous and regular basis, remember that these writers did not have the NT to read, they had just the law of the Lord, but it was so refreshing to them.

That means they were refreshed by reading the books of the Law, like Chronicles and even Leviticus .. Do you find the word of God lifeless or life giving?In Verse 3, the man who does this is compared to a tree. Can I ask you a question?.

Have you ever tried to move an oak tree, that is many years old? It is unmovable, the roots of that tree go down deep. Indeed we are like trees and we are fed by the Living waters of God, which is in Christ Jesus and his word.

This is why we are told to be steadfast unmovable always abounding in the work of the Lord 1 Corinthians 15:58 . How rooted and grounded are you in the word of God? Are you still taking it in milk form 1 Peter 2:2 or in meat form Hebrews 5:11-14 and 1 Corinthians 3:1-3

In the New Testament, Paul says that we must feed on THE WORD, in verses such as Colossians 3:16, and also we must never fear temptation as Jesus has overcome the world and the devil Hebrews 2:14-18 & 1 Corinthians 10:13

Jesus has defeated the devil through his word. Matthew 4:1-12 and made a mockery of all his power Colossians 2:11-15, he has given us the same authority, let's use it and go forward to victory

Verses 4-6 show what happens to those , who choose to disobey God. The Apostle Paul says in Romans 6:23:

23For the wages which sin pays is death, but the [bountiful] free gift of God is eternal life through (in union with) Jesus Christ our Lord.

God knows the way of the righteous and he sees everything that happens to them.

Verse 6 for the believer, is wonderful. Your Father sees everything that has been said about you, any actions that people take against you, have been seen by your heavenly Father and he takes note of all these actions and He will reward or punish the people responsible.

You may look believer at people who are doing well, because they are exploiting others and doing evil things.

Nothing is unseen believer... no one does anything in secret.. all things will be exposed on judgement day. The Lord looks on these people and considers them chaff.. that the wind blows away.

God bless you

Keith

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